The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) adopted its opinion on the proposed Regulation establishing EU support for internal security for 2028-2034, calling for mandatory involvement of local and regional authorities in programming and implementation. The opinion, published on 9 July 2026, stresses that local and regional authorities hold crucial competences for local police, emergency services, critical infrastructure, public spaces security, and essential service continuity.
The CoR notes the significant increase in proposed financial resources reflects the Commission's prioritisation of internal security. It calls for territorial impact assessments to ensure funding priorities match region-specific security needs and demands clear traceability of resources allocated to internal security measures, especially in national/regional partnership plans. The CoR urges the Commission to make local and regional authority involvement mandatory in developing partnership plans, with approval conditional on formal coordination.
The opinion proposes several amendments to the draft regulation. Amendment 1 adds the word "proportionate" to the Security Union concept. Amendment 2 grounds objectives in fundamental rights and rule of law. Amendment 3 requires fundamental rights safeguards for digital technologies. Amendment 5 includes local and regional authorities in joint training. Amendment 8 adds hate crime and gender-based violence to covered threats. Amendment 9 ensures coordination with local and regional authorities on external security cooperation with territorial effects.
The opinion, if adopted, would strengthen the role of local and regional authorities, giving them a formal seat at the table in designing security funding. This could improve the territorial relevance of spending but may add administrative complexity for national governments and the Commission. The proposed fundamental rights safeguards could impose additional compliance costs on technology providers. The inclusion of hate crime and gender-based violence broadens the scope of EU internal security funding, potentially benefiting civil society organisations working on these issues.
The European Parliament and the Council will consider the CoR's opinion as they negotiate the final regulation. The Commission is expected to respond to the proposed amendments in the legislative process.